Florida animal rights activist says talk of violence against Wayne State University professor is free speech

A Florida animal rights activist is arguing that discussions of graphic violence against a Wayne State University animal researcher are federally protected free speech and not stalking.

Outside her preliminary examination Thursday in Detroit's 36th District Court, Camille Marino, 47, said she never intended to act on the violence she wrote about in an Oct. 22, 2011, e-mail to Dr. Donal O'Leary. The physiologist is in charge of cardiovascular research at Wayne State's medical school and conducts research on dogs and rats.

"I'm not a violent person," said Marino, accompanied by two women wearing T-shirts with the words "Wayne State murders and tortures dogs" on the back.

Her defense attorney, Matt Savich, said Marino's actions are free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Marino is charged with aggravated stalking and unlawful posting of messages online, both five-year felonies, and trespassing. She was arrested May 2 after she chained herself to the doors of Wayne State's undergraduate library, surrounded by posters about O'Leary.

The preliminary examination, in front of Judge E. Lynise Bryant-Weekes, was continued until July 13 to give prosecutors time to respond to the constitutional argument.

O'Leary said Marino's words frightened him and his family. Calling the e-mail a "demented missive," O'Leary read parts of it in court, starting with the title "Welcome to Your Nightmare," and a reference to Freddy Krueger, a movie character that stalks and kills.

The e-mail included threats to strap O'Leary down and cut off his limbs with rusty saws, rip his teeth out one-by-one with pliers and pound them into his skull, crack his testicles "like walnuts" and feed his limbless body to starving dogs.

"I felt they were clearly from a disturbed individual that was threatening me personally, threatening my children, threatening my home, threatening my colleagues and my students," O'Leary said.

O'Leary testified that he and his neighbors received postcards with a picture of him and the words "I torture animals." He said he saw his name, picture and threats on Marino's Facebook page more than 20 times -- as recently as three days ago.

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Florida animal rights activist says talk of violence against Wayne State University professor is free speech